Just a Bit Outside

Brewers' Rogers has come far from childhood catching lobsters

MARYVALE, Ariz. - Since being drafted in the first round of the 2004 draft, Brewers RHP Mark Rogers has persevered through numerous injuries, and is hoping to lock down a spot in the Brewers rotation this spring.

But to the 27-year-old Rogers, it seems like just yesterday he was just a kid working on a lobster boat in his home state of Maine.

"My father was actually a lobsterman, so I grew up on the boats. He's a fourth-generation lobsterman. His father was a lobsterman. All his brothers were lobsterman as well. I grew up on the boats," said Rogers to Newsradio 620 WTMJ's Greg Matzek during Brewers Spring Training.

While he no longer spends time shucking crustaceans from a 40-foot fishing boat named "Hat Trick", Rogers has not given up on hunting, but he has turned his focus to land animals.

"I still go back every thanksgiving and go on a hunting trip with my father and my family, my brothers. I took them to saskatchewan and we had a great time. Every off-season, I try and go on one hunting trip with my dad."

Now that he and his wife Kerrie have relocated to Chandler, AZ, Rogers hopes to avoid hunting creatures that don't have legs.

"I'm not real fond of snakes and poisonous stuff like that, rattlesnakes out here in Arizona. They freak me out a little bit. If there's snakes or spiders around the house, I'd rather my wife deal with it," admits Rogers.

"Anything that can move that fast that doesn't have legs, I have a problem with."

A new addition to the Rogers family came a couple years ago in daughter Ellyette. That's right, a little girl name Ellyette.

"It's my middle name, and my father's middle name, so we kind of changed the spelling a little bit, made it a little more feminine."

On the field, when healthy, Rogers commands respect with an electric fastball.

Off the field, he's an easy going family man with a giant smile and a strong work ethic - an easy guy to root for.

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